I welcome the opportunity to reflect as I finish my term on the Board. I was sorry to be unable to attend the recent Conference in Ōtautahi – Christchurch. I hear it was successful and I wish the new Board (new and existing members) all the best.

I step down from the Board after a very intense and interesting time with Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa/NCWNZ over 12 years – as a Convenor, Branch President, and Board member. Prior to that I worked with NCWNZ in my role as NZCTU Secretary collaborating on matters like the CEDAW report. I have been unable to contribute much to NCW recently due to the ill health of my partner, but I remain a member and will involve myself as I can.

I am proud of this organisation – it has a long and important history and has survived many challenges over the 128 years we have been in existence. As an organisation we have played a key role in proposing change, scrutinising initiatives, and publicly challenging gender inequality. We have been at the forefront of change. An example I recall from some time ago when I was writing a speech about women’s pay was realising that NCWNZ had policy about equal pay since our inception and about pay equity from the 1950s. Our success has been from the diversity of organisations and individuals making up NCWNZ where despite different views we have been able to join together on issues that matter to women and children.

I am pleased to have played a role in the restructuring of NCWNZ in 2022 to better reflect our circumstances and the reality of societal changes. The change process was one of the most challenging but satisfying experiences I have had. While it is not perfect, we have survived and have developed new ways of working. I want to particularly acknowledge all those who take on leadership roles in the organisation – at Branch, Action Hub, and national levels. This work is driven by a shared belief in pursuing gender equity for all.

We have given greater recognition to intersectionality and the different experiences and needs of different groups of women. We have also acknowledged the need to develop as an organisation recognising and honouring Te Tiriti. These are still works in progress I believe.

Recently I had the interesting and challenging experience as part of a global group in developing an action plan for gender equality by 2030. This plan has been signed off by representatives of 80 countries from both the global south and north. We recognised commonalities that are not surprising – gender-based violence, the care gap, the need for economic independence, the pay gap, the lack of women in leadership roles and more. We also acknowledged that in many countries there is a real risk of progress towards gender equality going backwards.

Two important processes I believe apply everywhere, including for us in Aotearoa, are gender auditing and gender budgeting. We need to continue to push Government (local and central), businesses and institutions to scrutinise and resource initiatives by looking at impacts on women (with an intersectional lens) if we want to make progress. Irrespective of political differences I believe this is important for us in NCWNZ to promote this approach including within our own organisations.

Arohanui,
Carol Beaumont

To read more articles from The Circular (September-October 2024) issue 649, click on the tag below.